Reunion
by BettyHT
Summary: Prequel and AU. Ben has lost his oldest son and second wife, and lives on the Ponderosa with Hoss, Marie, and Little Joe, but there is a huge surprise for him when he and Hoss take a short trip. The rest of the story is about what happens to change their lives and how all of them react to it.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1 **_(none of the Cartwrights have died despite how the first chapter reads)_

_(A big thank you to Sylvia whose story idea got me started on this story.)_

"Marie, Hoss is old enough now to travel with me. He's had to grow up fast on this ranch, and he'll be fine."

"Ben, I know he is big for his age, but he is still only ten years old. He cannot be expected to do a man's work and take on a man's responsibility."

"He won't be. He'll be riding with me, and I'll take care of everything. Adam was more independent at six years old than Hoss is now. He needs to learn to stand on his own, and not have his mother there all the time doing things for him."

"Adam, Adam, Adam! I am tired of hearing of this mythical child who could do no wrong."

That caused Ben to raise his voice to a level so that Marie knew she had hit a raw nerve and needed to back off. "He is not a mythical child. He misbehaved at times just like any child. I was probably far too hard on him. Inger taught me that. We were just getting to be very close when tragedy struck us. He was my first born, and I miss him every day. When he and Inger were killed in that Indian attack, I thought I wanted to die. It was only Hoss that saved me. I had to escape with the others and save my baby boy. But he is not a baby any longer, and he needs to start learning to be a man."

Conceding that her husband would not give in this time, Marie only had practical questions. "How long will you be gone? And what will the weather be like where you're going so I know how to pack for the two of you?"

Wrapping an arm around Marie's shoulders, Ben told her hot and dry so they would take extra canteens as a precaution, and they would need more bandannas than usual as well. They would also likely travel a bit slower so they would need more food than usual for a trip that should take them eight to ten days as long as the weather stayed reasonable. They would work out the contracts for the cattle they would sell, and then they would work out a trail to drive the cattle. It would be the first substantial cattle sale for the Ponderosa, and the first year that their primary income would be from cattle. This time it was breeding stock to a ranch further north that had been hit hard in blizzards the year before. Without proper preparation, most of their cattle had perished. Now they wanted cattle and advice from Ben on keeping their stock alive in the winter months. Hoss had helped him the previous winter with the feed and care of the animals they had so he had a good understanding too of what they had done that led to the Ponderosa having significantly lower rates of loss in the winter months.

Genuinely proud that his father was including him as a partner in the Ponderosa, Hoss also was worried for he knew if anything happened while they were traveling, he would be expected to help out and wasn't sure he knew enough. He packed all those things his father always said were useful on the trail. He had a tin of matches, an extra handkerchief, a pocket knife, as well as some beef jerky that he kept in his pockets. He sincerely hoped nothing would happen to mar their trip but knew out in the west, there was always the possibility of some trouble.

"Will you at least take one of the men with you? Hoss shouldn't be your only backup if something goes wrong."

"If I do that, what will that do to his confidence? He needs to know I'm counting on him, and that there's no one else as backup."

"You would risk our son's life to prove a point?"

"I am not risking his life. It is a very safe ride up to the ranch where we're heading. But you never know what can happen out here any day, and Hoss has to learn to be prepared."

"Well, I shall be worrying every day that you are gone. Joseph will worry too with not only his father but his brother gone as well."

"With your care, Little Joe won't even know we're gone. You treat him like a baby still, Marie. Have you thought of what this will make him as he grows older? His long curls make him look like a girl in those gowns you insist he keep wearing."

"It is what babies wear, my love."

"But that's just the point. He isn't a baby any longer and you treat him as if he is. Most children at four are wearing regular clothing and have some simple chores to do. You dote on him. If anything, God forbid, would ever happen to you, he would be as helpless as a newborn."

"We have had this discussion before. Our Eric missed most of his early childhood because of the hardships you faced after the loss of his mother. Our little Joseph is a happy child who can laugh and play because we have no worries like that. Please let him be a happy child for a bit longer?"

"Hoss was a happy child too. He never lost that smile of his that is so sweet. How can you say he lost his childhood? He had me and we were happy to have each other."

Stopping because they had been over this same ground so many times before, Ben and Marie finished packing what he would need for the trip. In his bedroom, Hoss was doing the same and getting very excited about the trip they would start the next morning. He even polished his boots but laughed at himself for it knowing how dusty and dirty they would be when they started their ride to the northeast. Hoss was well aware that if this trip and drive were successful, his father planned to buy another section of land adding thirty-six square miles to the Ponderosa making it the largest ranch in the area.

The family dined together that evening and all Hoss could do was to talk about the upcoming trip until Hop Sing brought out the dinner. Hop Sing was part of their family because on a trip to California to hire a couple of vaqueros to help on the ranch, they had met him on the trail. He volunteered to do the kitchen duty. After Hoss had tasted his food, he had asked him to come live with them. That had been six years before when Hoss was only four. Ben however had thought it a good idea especially as Hop Sing could watch over Hoss allowing Ben to do more ranch work. The when Marie arrived a few years later, she was pleased to find that even in the wilderness she had moved into a home with a servant allowing her to concentrate on sewing, decorating, and gardening which she loved. It also had given her time to take daily morning rides which she also loved to do. The dinner being served made everyone quiet for a time except Little Joe who ate like a bird and jabbered through most meals.

"Little Joe, you need to be quiet. It isn't acceptable for a child to interrupt a meal and conversation like you do." Said in Ben's deep and serious voice, the message of disapproval was clear which made Little Joe start crying.

"See what you have done? Why must you be so cruel to our baby?"

"Marie, he is not a baby, and should not cry every time I tell him not to do something. Isn't it about time that he learned at least some basic table manners?"

"He has plenty of time to learn. He is very smart and learned much already."

"The only thing I can see that he has learned is to cry so that you give him what he wants. Now I don't want to spend my life listening to him cry and watching him give me that puppy dog look as if all he has to do is ask to get what he wants. Hoss never acted that way."

"And I suppose your precious Adam never did either. Well Joseph is my baby, and I will decide when he has to be part of your hard and cruel world."

Somehow Ben suspected that this was one of those arguments that might go on until Little Joe was married and left the house. He smiled to himself as he wondered how much Marie might interfere in Little Joe's love life for any girl he was interested in would have to be perfect in Marie's eyes. Marie saw that little grin and her anger rose. He was always doing that, and his superior attitude irritated her no end.

"Now what are you smiling about?"

"Oh I was just picturing Joe in about a dozen years or so calling on young ladies still wearing his gown with his Mama at his side checking out the girl to see if she passed muster."

Hoss almost had his coffee and milk mixture almost come out of his nose with that one as he did his best not to laugh but couldn't stop himself. The image in his mind of long curly hair on a teenage Little Joe in a dress was too funny. Ben laughed too at seeing that Hoss understood the humor of it and the implications of not letting Little Joe start growing up. Marie however was incensed not only to be teased so unmercifully by her husband but she felt humiliated to have Hoss laughing at her as well. She picked up Little Joe and stalked away from the table.

Whispering, Hoss had one last comment for his father. "Ya think you're gonna be sleeping in the guest bedroom again?"

"Oh, probably, but it was worth it. I haven't had a good chuckle like that in a long time."

By the next morning, Marie had apparently regained some of her good humor, and she smiled as she bid adieu to Ben and Hoss. But inside she was still seething. More and more lately, she and Ben argued. She was trapped here in the wilderness with no place to go though so there was nothing she could do about that. She did have Hop Sing hitch up the carriage, and she and Little Joe took a trip to town to buy some things. She hoped that at some point, she could take her small son and leave this place, but she would miss having a servant and was genuinely fond of Hoss as well. However she couldn't let go of the resentment at what she felt was Ben's constant criticism of her. He had not been that way in their courtship nor in the early part of their marriage. She did not realize that it was her spoiling of her son that was the only issue between them, but she loved her little son so fiercely, she could not see that she was the source of the issue.

On the trail, there was a lot of time for Ben and Hoss to talk in the evenings when it was too dim to travel safely, but much too early to bed down for the night. As often happened when it was just the two of them, Hoss asked about his mother. On the last night before they reached their destination and close to where his mother and brother had died nearly nine years earlier, he asked about that tragic day. Ben told the story as he had so many times before and with tears in his eyes as he always did recounting the loss of Inger and Adam.

"We woke in the morning not knowing how terrible the day was going to be. Adam left to get firewood as he did each morning and evening. There were some ruins of someone's attempt to build there, and we were using those walls to protect our campfires from the wind. Before we could clean up after breakfast and move out, we were attacked. They seemed to come from every direction. Somehow Adam managed to run back to us or he would surely have been taken. Then even the women had to grab rifles and guns to help protect us. We told Adam to hold you and make sure no harm came to you. He did that. He took an arrow in the back protecting you even though he was barely six years old at the time. That sight made Inger rush to your side, and the same brave who had shot Adam killed your mother as well. I grabbed you then and kept you by my side through the rest of the fighting. They began to overrun the area so those who were left jumped in our wagons and drove away as fast as we could go. The Indians were more interested in looting the wagons that were left than in following us. A group of American soldiers who were mapping the area found us that night. They said they had come upon the area of the attack and buried the dead. We went back the next morning but there was no way to identify the graves. The soldiers had not thought that was important. There weren't even enough graves to account for all the missing for they had buried women and children together. We put crosses on all the graves and covered them with stones from the ruins. We left then for there was nothing else to do."

By the time Ben finished, Hoss had tears in his eyes too for the mother he had never known and for the losses his father had suffered and the pain it still caused him to think of that day. For the rest of the trip, Hoss' questions were about happier events of the mother and brother he could not remember ever having known. The trip to the northeast was successful, and Ben and Hoss searched out watering holes on the way back and noted where there was grass that could feed a small herd at least overnight. They were only two days from home when Ben fell and was hurt when his horse stumbled and nearly fell. Ben had been distracted listening to Hoss talk and had not noticed the holes from the prairie dogs. He paid for that and his last sight was the ground rushing to meet his head.


	2. Chapter 2

_(I actually wrote this second chapter first and then decided I couldn't start there and created chapter 1. So this chapter is ready because all I had to do was edit to make sure it agreed with what I put in chapter 1.)_

**Chapter 2**

Riding a pony bareback, the thin dark haired man leaped from his horse and rushed up to Hoss who knelt at his father's side. The dark haired man had been hunting for dinner and seen the man fall and wondered if he was hurt. He checked him over and realized he only had a bump on the head and would be fine although his head would hurt. Inside though, the dark haired man felt some pain too for this man so resembled the father he had lost years before. He rolled the big man over and made sure he was comfortable. He retrieved Ben's horse and unsaddled it but that took some time as he was unfamiliar with the cinch and straps used to hold the saddle on the horse. Then he brought the saddle over to Ben and lifted his shoulders before sliding the saddle beneath his head. He unrolled his bedroll and pulled it over him. Once that was done, he asked Hoss for his canteen and placed it by Ben's side. Night was arriving so he went to gather firewood. He made a small fire near where Ben lay, and placed the rabbits he had killed while hunting on sticks next to the fire to roast occasionally turning them so they cooked evenly. Then he sat back on his haunches and watched the big man. When Ben began to stir, the dark haired young man helped him drink some water. Hoss visibly relaxed then and noticed that the rabbits looked done.

"Hmm, that sure smells good. Wouldn't mind some of that ifn you got any to spare."

Silently, the dark haired man handed him a chunk of rabbit and ate some himself that he sliced off with a big knife he carried at his waist. He had a pistol rig strapped to his right side, as well as a rifle by him. Hoss thought he looked like he was ready for a fight. Hoss didn't see any reason for him to be so alert, but he was out here in the wilderness, and the dark haired man had the look of someone comfortable in his surroundings. Sitting quietly like this, Hoss could see too that he was much younger than he had first thought.

"I'm right glad you happened along when you did. I think I mighta been in a heap of trouble if you hadn't helped us like you did. Thank you. Is my Pa gonna be all right?"

All Hoss got in response was a nod. Once he had eaten his fill of rabbit, and had more water to drink, he laid back. The dark haired man picked up the canteen and came back after about fifteen minutes with a full canteen which he set at Ben's side again.

"You don't talk much, do ya. By the way, my name is Hoss Cartwright. That's my Pa, Ben Cartwright."

The dark haired man stood then and backed away. It was the most reaction to anything that Hoss had ever seen. He watched him and the man had no expression now, but a moment ago he had looked shocked.

"The Lemhi call me Doyadukubichi'. The Pawnee called me Kuruk."

"Those are Indian names, but you're the hairiest Indian I ever saw. You're dark enough, I guess, but you ain't no Indian."

"I grew up with the Newe. The Pawnee traded me to them soon after they took me. The soldiers didn't know I was white until I was older and this hair started growing on my body. Then they 'rescued' me. That's what they called it, but they took me from my home and the people who provided for me. They taught me English, cut my hair, dressed me in white clothing, gave me a rifle and a pistol, and said now I was 'free'. I am free to be nothing now. No one wants me. To the Newe, I am white now. To the whites, I am Newe."

"Where do you live?"

The dark haired man waved his arm around himself. "Here. I don't need much. I trade some furs for ammunition when I need it."

"Why did you look so surprised when I said my name was Hoss and that that is my father. Now don't look away, please. I only want to know if I upset you somehow by saying that. You really helped me out here. Buck stumbled and I guess Pa wasn't really paying attention to where he was going. My Pa and I took some contracts to an outfit up here. I was feeling so proud of myself and thinking how proud my Pa was of me, I guess I was talking too much and distracted Pa. I plumb forgot to pay attention to what I was doing."

"You should rest now." And Doyadukubichi' walked away. About nine years earlier, he had seen this tall boy as an infant. There could be no other youth with such an unusual name as Hoss and with eyes that blue. The odds against such a coincidence were astronomical. He had loved that boy, but had lost all contact with him. He remembered vividly the day that had happened.

Late the night before, the small wagon train had accepted a stranger and allowed him to travel with them. By the middle of the next day, the train was under attack by Indians. Adam was told to hold Hoss close and not let him get hurt. Doyadukubichi' did his best, but when his stepmother Inger turned from the window to go get more ammunition, one of the warriors loomed at the window suddenly with an arrow notched and ready to fly. His stepmother had turned to fire, but he released the arrow anyway as he fell. Holding Hoss as tightly as he could, Doyadukubichi' had turned from the window to cower as low to the floor as he could. Suddenly he had felt a searing hot pain in his back that penetrated right through to his front. He looked down to see the head of an arrow protruding from his side. Screaming incoherently, his stepmother had knelt at his side and picked up Hoss suddenly toppling over with an arrow piercing from her back to her chest. It was the last memory Doyadukubichi' had of that day.

Awakening much later, he had all sorts of material wrapped around his middle. He was in agony each time he awoke, and cried out until one of the women would place a hand across his mouth to silence him. Eventually he was strong enough to drink some thick broth they brought to him, and then slowly solid food was introduced. For what must have been months, he had agonizing pains in his side after every meal. He would get so hungry avoiding food as long as he could, but then he would eat and the pain would return. There was no one there who offered him any comfort in those early days. They waited to see if he would live. Once his health began to improve, a couple took him with them, adopting him in a way, but he hated living there and fought every thing they tried to make him do. They taught him words like eat, drink, sleep, and carry. Whenever they tried to make him carry, he would fight them. They called him Kukuk, the Bear. Over and over again, he would try to run away. He learned in time that he was with the Pawnee.

Running away was the worst. They beat him at first with willow branches that stung terribly but did no real damage except for pink welts. That didn't work in curbing his desire to be free of them, and he continued to try to escape. He had no idea where he would go, but he knew he didn't want to stay with these people. Finally one day, three of the warriors came to him and held him down, pulled off his shoes, and laid a hot coal on the bottom of each foot. He screamed at them and then screamed in pain. When they left, the women bandaged his feet. He couldn't run away then. The pain from his feet was excruciating. But that didn't work either. By the time his feet healed, he tried to run away again. They bound him then, and the men who were leaving to go hunting took him along. He had no idea what they would do. After several days, they approached another group of Indians, the Newe, and offered to sell him to them. He could tell by the goods that were eventually transferred for him. They left him there then. He looked around at the desert with the mountains in the distance and knew he could never escape them. It was certain death to try. He laid on the ground and beat his fists in frustration. Then he ran away.

The Newe didn't track him down and punish him. They waited a few days and then a man rode out to see if he wanted to come back. He did because he was tired, hungry, and covered with insect bites. He didn't try to run away again. He had discovered he had nowhere to go. He was given food and shelter, and he was given work to do all day every day. When he did his work, he was fed and given a place to sleep. If he did not do the work, he was denied food and ignored when it was time to sleep. Eventually he worked and did as he was asked because he didn't see any other way to live. After a few years of servitude, several times soldiers came to the camp. They would look at him, and move on and look at all of the other children. It was several such visits before he realized they were looking for white children. Deeply tanned by the sun and with his dark hair and eyes, he was never recognized as white. He wanted to yell out that he was a captive, but he had lost a lot of his English words. He could remember them when he concentrated, but they didn't roll of his tongue like a natural language would.

Many times Doyadukubichi' wondered about his white family. His father Ben, his mother Inger, and his brother Hoss were all the family he knew. He wondered if they were alive or if they had been killed in the attack. When he reached his early teens and started to grow a beard, the soldiers realized he was white. That's when he was rescued, except to him it was just another forced relocation. This time he realized it did no good to run away. He tolerated what they wanted to do with him including trying their best to make him white again. He learned to speak, read, and write in English, and to do arithmetic. He was praised for how well he learned, but some of it was relearning what he already knew. Cooperating as much as necessary, he left as soon as he was old enough. A tall youth, he told them he was sixteen, and they said he was free to go out on his own. He worked at various jobs where being strong was all that mattered. He got enough money to buy a good horse, basic supplies, and better clothing. Then he headed off into the wilderness to live alone. He had been in the wilderness for much of the past year. The winter had been the most difficult, but he had a cave he found and built a barrier across the entrance to protect his horse and himself as well as his belongings. The log wall served as well to insulate the interior and hold in the heat of his fire. He knew that an illness or injury could mean his death, but there would be no one to miss him.

When Doyadukubichi' saw Ben fall, he had gone to him as he had gone to help others he had found in need. Sometimes they tried to hurt him when they realized he was young and alone. They regretted that choice if they made it. He had lots of time to practice and was deadly with any weapon he chose to use. He always had weapons near him because he trusted no one. Even Hoss could be a threat. He was a big and powerful youth which was easy to see. Knowing him as a baby was no guarantee that he would not be dangerous to him now. He helped them, and when Ben was strong enough, he would leave them.

When Ben sat up the next morning and was able to eat some of the rabbit, it was clear he was recovering well.

"You are recovered from your injury?"

Hoss answered for his father who still looked pale. "Yessiree, I think Pa's back to being right in the head again. He says he's got no dizziness and no sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. I have to thank you for helping us. Say, why dontcha come back with us? You could work on our ranch. There's lots of jobs that let ya stay out in the hills for weeks at a time. But we make sure ya got food and anything else ya need."

"No. I'll stay here."

Wanting to show his gratitude, Ben supported Hoss' statement. "Yes, there's a job for you on the Ponderosa any time you want. You can find us by heading southwest from here. Once you get close, just ask anyone for directions to the Ponderosa." Then Ben leaned back and closed his eyes.

Cleaning up the campsite and putting more rocks in the ring around the campfire, Hoss tuned around to offer more inducement for Doyadukubichi' to come with them, and he was gone. There was no sign of him anywhere. Hoss was disappointed. He suspected that he had had a hard life. That morning as they had bathed in the small stream a short walk from their campsite, Hoss had seen the scars on Doyadukubichi's front and back. He had asked him where he got them, and he had simply said an arrow had gone through him. But there was something about the way he talked, his voice, and his face that Hoss found eerily familiar. And then there had been his reaction when Hoss told him their names. He had been clearly shocked and then wiped the look from his face and never reacted again. But in his heart, Hoss knew that somehow he had known their names before Hoss had said them. They camped there another day eating beef jerky and beans until Ben told Hoss that he thought if they rode slowly, he could ride.

As they rode away, Doyadukubichi' watched from the hill high above. Now he had more thoughts about his white family. Why had they left him behind? Didn't they want him either? It was difficult for Doyadukubichi' to believe anyone wanted him after the life he had lived to this point. He saw couples and families in the white fort and town where he had been taken, and he had seen them among the Newe and other tribes. He couldn't even imagine that for himself. He couldn't begin to understand what it meant for someone to love and be loved. It was an alien concept.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"Pa, didn't that Doyadukubichi' seem kind of familiar to you?"

"Yes, he did, but I have no idea why. I know I have never met him, and yet it felt as if I had. I wonder if there was a chance meeting years ago that I just don't recall."

"Pa, it couldn't have been too long ago cause I thought the same thing. It was like I heard his voice before only it wasn't the same. He had scars on him too. Did you know he got shot with an arrow? It went clean through him. I saw the scars when we was cleaning up, and he just said he got shot like it was no big deal. But that kind of thing could kill a person, couldn't it Pa?"

Ben shuddered as he remembered suddenly that horrible vision of arrows sticking through his wife and son all those years ago. "Yes, son, that surely would kill most people. Now let's talk about that cattle drive. We need to map a few more watering holes and pastures before we can ride for home."

Noticing his father's reaction, Hoss did what he often did and changed the subject. "Pa, is Mama really mad at you for taking me along on this trip? I mean, is she going to be mad when we get back?"

"No, Hoss, your Mama is just a very emotional person and doesn't often think things through before she talks. She threatens to take Little Joe and head back to New Orleans fairly often forgetting that she came with me just to escape that city and the cruel people she knew there. No, she gets mad just like Hop Sing, and threatens to leave just like he threatens to leave all the time and go back to China. Neither one of them mean what they say. I'm sure she brooded on it and gradually cooled down and realized how silly she was being just like Hop Sing does when he says he's sorry for yelling at us. It's just how they talk when they're mad."

"I know when she gets mad at me, I just go do something else for a while, and it's like she forgets she was ever mad at me by the time I get back."

"Exactly. She often forgets the benefits of living here when she's angry, and thinks only of the benefits of living in a city. The rest of the time, when she's calm, she remembers why we're here. When we buy that next section, I'm going to have a map drawn of just the Ponderosa. We'll hang it on the wall so that Marie can point to it with pride whenever someone visits."

"Pa, I was thinking, maybe we should have a big party then too. Mama talks about all those balls and fancy shindigs and such that she went to in New Orleans. Maybe she could have one of those here?"

"Son, you may only be ten years old, but you have the wisdom of a man three times your age. You're going to make a fine husband some day."

"Aw, Pa, I ain't never getting married. Girls just ain't no fun."

"Son, I trust that in a few years you will change your mind on that score. And a party is a wonderful idea. If it went over well we could have a couple every year. Maybe we could have one in the spring and one in the fall. What do you think about that?"

"Pa, that's the best idea you've had lately, and you've got lots of good ideas. I wish I could think fast and smart like you."

"Hoss, you're just fine. You think things through and make good decisions most of the time. Don't you worry. You'll be ready to take over this ranch someday."

"What about Little Joe?"

With a deep sigh, Ben looked at his young son. "Hoss, you and I are going to have our work cut out for us with that one. He's going to be a handful, I can just tell." Hoss just laughed. He liked it a lot when his father talked to him like this. It made him feel more grown up. He sat a little taller in the saddle with the confidence his father had in him.

By the time Ben and Hoss rode into the yard of the Ponderosa, Marie had recovered from her snit and was happy to see them. Marie was a very moody and emotional woman. Ben and Hoss had learned to ignore the bad moods and crankiness and enjoy the times when she was happy and fun to be around. Marie was very concerned about Ben's injury, and Hoss told her all about the young man who had helped them.

"Is he Indian or white then?"

"Mama, he's white but he acts a lot like an Indian too. He can move so quiet, you don't even know he's gone. It's just like, poof, and he's gone."

Almost immediately, Ben began organizing the cattle drive. The men who worked for them had never been on one before so this was going to be a major learning experience for them. Only a few hands would stay behind to keep up with the basic requirements of the ranch. The others would be gone on the drive.

Within a week, they had the cattle they were selling ready to move out. Hoss was going along again but with less of Marie's objections this time. Ben assured her that Hoss would ride in the chuck wagon if there was any trouble. That seemed to pacify her, but Ben knew that if anything happened to Hoss on this trip, no matter how minor it was, he would hear about it interminably. Joe wasn't happy that both of them were leaving again and threw a tantrum when Ben and Hoss tried to say goodbye. Ben swatted his behind and shocked him into silence. Marie gathered him up immediately, but he remained quiet as his father and brother left. His father had certainly gotten his attention and Marie's as well. Usually it took her a long time to get Joe to stop a tantrum. She was beginning to think that Ben might be right about Joe being spoiled, but she didn't know any other way to deal with her baby. She planned to have a frank discussion with Ben when he returned.

The drive was not without problems. The cattle resisted being driven away from the green grass and sweet water of the Ponderosa. The men were not used to being in the saddle as much as fourteen hours a day when the weather was good or bad. Taking a two hour shift night herding was also something to which they all had to adjust. Another issue they had not considered was that rustlers might try to take some of the herd as they moved them, and nighttime was their best time to act.

Late in the day, three days out and almost halfway to their destination, Hoss and Ben stopped to fill their canteens at a small stream. And suddenly Doyadukubichi' was there.

"Men are following you."

"What kind of men?"

"I think you know. They watch you and they watch the cattle. I saw them from up on that ridge. I will be watching them. I think they will do something soon."

"Why don't you come with us? We could use the help, and you could eat with us."

"I'll watch." And with that, he was gone again. Hoss thought it was amazing how he could disappear so quickly and quietly. He wished he could move like that. He wondered if there was some way that this young man could teach him those things. He liked hunting as well as tracking animals, and he was sure that Doyadukubichi' could teach him a lot about that.

Putting the men on alert, Ben also told Hoss to ride in the chuck wagon with his horse tied behind. He wasn't going to take any chances with his son. As they proceeded, his man who had point sent word back that they were going to have to spread the herd out in a longer line because the valley ahead narrowed sharply. That was likely when the rustlers would strike. Ben signaled his men to stay as close together as possible and to expect some kind of attempt to steel their cattle.

When the assault came, it was far more violent than they had expected. The man riding point was shot and the herd started to run. More gunfire ensued and the hands rode hard trying to stop the herd from stampeding away. They managed to do that by turning the lead cows back into the others but then they had a milling tangle of agitated animals and sporadic gunfire coming in at them. Ben finally told the men to take cover. No amount of money was worth losing any more lives. Once they were in cover, they were better able to return fire, but they had a defensive position, and those up above had the strategic advantage.

When gunfire erupted from behind the would be rustlers, the men down below wondered who it could be who had come to help them. After several rustlers fell, the others gave up their plan and rode off leaving their wounded companions. Ben and some of the hands mounted up and rode up the hill to thank their savior and see to the wounded men. They found two men wounded and one dead. The dead man had been shot in the back. Ben was surprised by that and looked up from the body when Doyadukubichi' approached.

"You shot him in the back?"

"He was trying to kill you. Should I have asked him to turn around please so I could shoot him in the front? The others turned after I shot, and that is why they are not dead."

It was clear to all that Doyadukubichi' had killed before for he had that hard mask men had when they had to do something they found difficult but necessary. Up close to him and with his mind clear, Ben realized how young he was. He again asked him to come with them.

"We're short a hand now too, and could use the help. I'll pay you."

"I will go with you." Doyadukubichi' helped with the drive. He was an excellent horseman, but it was clear herding was not something he had done much before so he ended up riding drag. He didn't complain which surprised all of the men there. He also didn't sleep near anyone, and ate the meals they served without engaging in conversation but did answer questions posed to him. It was his quiet acceptance of his place among them that earned the respect of the other men.

Ben invited Doyadukubichi' to travel back to the ranch with them when the drive was done, and he also accepted that but said he had to make a stop on the way. He came riding back to the group leading a second horse that carried some light packs. It was all he owned in the world. Doyadukubichi' did not say anything about recognizing Ben and Hoss as his family. He planned to study the situation before he decided what to do. He took a spot in the bunkhouse, and accepted the jobs assigned to him without complaint as usual. However he quickly understood the way things were done on the ranch, and when some men tried to get him to take their dirty jobs, he simply said no thank you, and walked away to go do his assigned tasks. One of the hands didn't like that. He thought the new hands ought to be hazed a bit. He kept trying to provoke Doyadukubichi' but it didn't work until he put a burr under his saddle. When Doyadukubichi' moved to mount up on his normally calm horse, he noticed the agitation but didn't know what had caused it. When the horse bucked him off, he had a pretty good idea though. He inspected his saddle and found the burr. Whirling on the men who were laughing, he heard them say who had done it. He walked up to the man who outweighed him by a hundred pounds and punched him in the face. The fight was mostly one sided with the larger man having a distinct advantage, but Doyadukubichi' wouldn't give up and landed several telling blows before Ben came storming out of the house.

"What in tarnation is going on here?"

"We was just having a little fun, and this one started a fight."

"Is that true, Doyadukubichi'? Did you throw the first punch?"

Expecting to be blamed, Doyadukubichi' was ready to leave. "I'll pack up and go if you wish."

"No, you don't have to go, but you need to know we don't tolerate fighting around here. Now you men get to work. All of you have jobs to do and I expect you to get that work done today." Looking at Doyadukubichi', Ben asked if he needed any assistance. He shook his head negatively and mounted up to ride out to herd some cattle to lower pastures where the grass was greener. Once he rode out, Ben's foreman walked up to him to explain.

"Nelson put a burr under the kid's saddle. His horse bucked him off. It was a mean thing to do, and I think I woulda busted him one in the chops if he did it to me."

"Did he really hit Nelson first?"

"Yeah, the kid never looked scared either. I think it's a good thing you came out when you did. Somebody was likely to get serious hurt otherwise."

"Well keep the two of them apart. You know how Nelson carries a grudge."

"They're both herding cattle today, but I'll be sure that they never get paired up."

"Thanks, Hank."

Once Ben was back inside, he explained what the commotion had been. Hoss was feeling kinda proud that his new friend would stand up to Nelson that way. Nelson called Hoss names whenever Ben wasn't around so Hoss liked the fact that Doyadukubichi' had hit him. Marie wondered if having such a hot-headed hand was a good idea.

"At this point, my dear, I would rather have him on the payroll than Nelson. Doyadukubichi' does his work and does his best to get along with the other hands. Nelson isn't nearly the hard worker the kid is and always seems to want to stir things up. By the end of the season, I may let Nelson go and keep the kid on instead."

"Pa, I think that's a really good idea."

"Oh, Hoss, why do you say that?"

"Oh, nothing really. I just don't like Nelson."

Surprised because Hoss liked just about everyone, Ben and Marie were curious.

"My son, what has Nelson done to make you dislike him?" Marie's question brought tears to Hoss' eyes and his parents saw it. "Oh, my, what has he done?"

"He calls me fat boy and lard butt and names like that. Mama, it really hurts and then sometimes some of the other men laugh."

"Benjamin, I think you are right to let that Nelson go. He has no place here."

At the end of the day though, the opposite occurred. Nelson and the other hands who had been herding got back in late. Ben and Hank went to them and asked what had happened, and Nelson answered.

"That damn kid turned the cattle away from the pasture where we were supposed to put them. We had to herd them all back up again, and move them with him complaining the whole time and telling us not to do it. Cost us a lot of hours to get the job done."

"Why did he say he did it?" The whole thing made no sense to Ben.

"Said the water was bad. Said he could smell it. Damn fool kid."

When Doyadukubichi' rode in shortly thereafter, Ben and Hank confronted him.

"Did you go against orders today, and stop those cattle from being moved as I ordered?"

"Yes. It was the wrong thing to do."

"That is not your decision to make."

"I will make decisions when they are needed. This one was needed. I will not follow blindly when the orders are wrong."

Shocked by his insubordination, Ben lost his temper and the thoughts from earlier that day fled. "You're fired. Pack up your things and be gone in the morning."

Clearly surprised, Doyadukubichi' soon had that impassive look. He walked into the bunkhouse before Ben could say any more. Hank followed Ben as he stalked to the house.

"Boss, maybe we oughta ask him why he wouldn't follow that order. Seems to me he wouldn't do anything to harm this operation. He's been a good worker until today."

"Yes, and apparently his dispute with Nelson led him to disobey direct orders. I will not have my hands acting that way."

"All right, boss, see you in the morning."

Very upset to hear that news, Hoss wanted to go talk to Doyadukubichi'. Ben told him to sit at the dining table for they were about to have dinner. The next morning, Ben regretted his decision and was going to go make amends. When he opened the front door, Hank was there about to knock.

"Seems we got a big problem, boss. The nightherders just came in and said we got a lot of sick cows down in that pasture where we moved em yesterday. Looks like the kid was right. Something's wrong with the water."

"Damn. I was just coming to see you. I want to talk to the kid and tell him to stay. I should never have fired him, but my temper got in the way."

"Too late, boss. He left last night. He packed up his stuff, and headed out. I told him he was due some pay, but he shook his head and left."

"Well, let's get some men together and go move the cattle that are still healthy. We'll see what we can do about the others."

For the rest of the day, Ben was busy. Marie had loved his idea of a party, and she took the carriage into town to start buying supplies and letting their best friends know about it. They would have a party on the following Saturday. Marie finally had something to do that suited her talents and her background. She hadn't had this much fun since she had decorated the house on her arrival with some new furniture and window dressings. She picked up the mail as well and noted a large envelope with her husbands name written in an elegant script. For just a second, she was jealous but then let it pass knowing Ben would never do anything improper. When she got home, she put the mail on Ben's desk and set about making lists of things to do for the party and consulting with Hop Sing to see what help he would need.

Exhausted, Ben got home late, cleaned up, and then had a late dinner. What he really would have liked to do was to lie down in bed and let his wife wipe his worries away, but building a big ranch like this took more work so he had to be disciplined. He had to go over the papers for buying that next section of the Ponderosa. They had the money now, and the party would celebrate the expansion of the ranch. He pushed aside the other mail, and would have left it for the next day except he was never a procrastinator and couldn't be one then. He opened the envelope with his name scrawled on it with only Virginia City as the address. By the time he finished reading his heart rate and temperature had gone up by about equal amounts it seemed.

"_Dear Mr. Cartwright:_

_There is a matter of importance that I think you must know. I became aware of your existence when you delivered some cattle to a ranch near here. We had a white boy here at our school for almost two years. He said his father was Ben Cartwright and his mother was Inger and that he had a baby brother, Eric. He thought they must have been killed in the Pawnee attack in which he himself was taken captive. He informed us that his name was Adam although he preferred to be called by his Shoshoni name, Doyadukubichi' which means cougar. At some point, the Pawnee had traded him to the Shoshoni, and he lived with them until he was rescued. The boy is very intelligent and well behaved, but he has had a hard life. He does not smile. He was allowed to leave because he told us he was sixteen years old, but I believe he is younger than that. I do not know what you will do with the information or even if the boy is related to you, but I could not in good conscience keep this information from you._

_Yours most sincerely,_

_Miss Miranda Adams"_

Leaning back in his chair, Ben wanted to go saddle a horse immediately and seek out his son but he knew he couldn't do that. He also knew that he would not be able to sleep with any peace on this night. He poured himself a glass of sherry and sat in front of the fireplace staring into the flames until he nodded off in the early hours of the morning.


	4. Chapter 4

_(for the guest reader concerned about age, remember that Adam left the school a year earlier; he was fifteen when Miss Adams knew him and is sixteen when he meets Hoss, age 10, and his father)_

**Chapter 4**

"It cannot be. It is some cruel hoax! This woman and that boy are in this together. They want part of the Ponderosa!"

"Marie, how did they know these things? How could they have known of the Indian attack and the names? Who could have told her it was the Pawnee who attacked us? We don't call Hoss Eric either. He was so familiar to me but I couldn't remember meeting him. Hoss had the same feeling. Well after nine years, he changed a lot. But Marie, I know it. In my heart, I know that he is my son."

"But Ben, we were going to have this lovely party. I already invited dozens of people."

"Marie, we'll have one more thing to celebrate if I can find him now and bring him home. I think I know where to look. If he wants to talk, he'll find me."

"Pa, I want to go with you." Hoss was standing at the top of the stairs in the house built from a design sketched on a piece of paper by a six year old boy who had never lived in a house.

"Hoss, it is not polite to eavesdrop."

"Pa, I could hear ya all the way in my room. Little Joe woke up too."

"Pack for five days. The only place I know to look is where we first saw him. I'll get Hop Sing to pack up food for us."

"You're going then?"

"Marie, if that was Joseph out there, wouldn't you do anything, go through any barrier to get to him? Well that is my son, and I'm going to get him and bring him home. I know now why he looked so familiar. He looks like his mother. If he only had smiled, I think I may have known it sooner, but I know it now."

With that, Ben went to talk to Hop Sing and then get the men to saddle up two horses. He came back in to kiss his wife and Little Joe goodbye. Little Joe knew better than to throw a tantrum after what had happened the last time. Ben noticed and decided he needed to be more insistent that Marie discipline the boy for he obviously was intelligent. He and Hoss rode out following a trail that was easy to see. Apparently Adam had not thought he would be followed and had done nothing to obscure his tracks. They found the site where he had spent the night, and then followed him out.

The night had been a restless one for Adam. He had trouble sleeping at all but wouldn't risk his horses by trying to travel in the dark. As soon as it was light though, he moved out. He wanted to get as far away from his heartbreaking sojourn on the Ponderosa as he could. He planned to spend a few days hunting in his old camp, and then he would move on. He thought that with his new skills, he might hire on with another ranch. He found that he had liked having other people around except for that disagreeable Nelson. But his father had a new wife, and Ma had indeed died the day he was taken so there would be none of those hugs and soothing talks he fondly remembered and had hoped he might get again. His father also had another son although he had thought Little Joe was a girl the first time he had seen him. He had shed tears as he left. He knew he had not cried except in pain for many years but being rejected so thoroughly had hurt him deeply. He did remember Hank's kind words and advice.

"You're due some pay. Besides ifn ya stay until morning, the boss will remember all the good things ya done for him. His temper's got a way of getting in the way of his thinking. I'd like ya to stay. Maybe in the future if ya got something stuck in your craw, you could talk with me first instead of doing something to get yourself in trouble."

"If it is the right thing to do, why do I need to ask? Don't you do the right thing when you see it?"

"But, kid, how do you know it was the right thing to do? Nobody else thought it was the right thing to do."

"I know what I did was right, and right is not determined by how many think it but only what is true."

"All right, then. But I'm gonna miss you, kid. Good luck in whatever you do, and you can come back here for a job any time you want. You just talk to me first, and you'll be working here."

"Thank you, Hank. May I call you friend?"

"Kid, I'd be honored to although I can't pronounce your name so you'll just have to be kid to me."

"My white name is Adam, but I haven't used that name since I was about six years old."

"Geez, that's a lot easier so why didn't ya say it was your name?"

"I have my reasons, Hank. Goodbye, friend." Adam had ridden from the yard at that point and not looked back because it was too painful. He had hoped so much that he could have found a way to be near his family, but had been rejected very quickly. It hurt a lot, but now he knew he did want a family or at least a group of good friends. He planned to seek that now instead of living alone.

After reaching his former camp early on the morning of the next day, Adam tended to his horses, unpacked his gear, and then grabbed his weapons to do some hunting. He hadn't eaten anything since he had left the Ponderosa, and he was very hungry. As he climbed up the ridge to look for signs of animals down below, he saw a pair of riders heading his way. They were still many miles away but he knew who they were. He thought about packing up and leaving for they would never find him if he chose to hide his tracks. He sat on the ridge contemplating why they were coming this way and what he should do. He chose the path he often did when confronted with such a problem. He decided to observe.

"Adam! Adam!"

So they knew. Adam wondered how they knew, but it didn't matter too much anyway. He moved closer to them to try to hear what they were saying.

"Pa, I know he's here. I can feel him."

"Hoss, you can't feel another person. You can hear him or see but not feel him."

"But I can, Pa. It's the same way when we're hunting and I tell you I know we're near a deer or an antelope. I can feel them, and I can feel my brother."

"You want a brother very badly, don't you?"

"Pa, he is my brother. I guess that all these years I was missing him, and I never knew him. Now I know who he is, and I miss him even more. I want him to come home with us."

"Hoss, you know it will change our family forever. You won't be the oldest any more, and Marie will take some time getting used to having another son who is not her blood. She took to you quickly but you were just a child at the time. She may have more trouble with a son who is already quite a bit taller than she is."

"Ya, Pa, can ya just see her looking up at him and telling him to clean the mud off his boots or something like that. I sure would like to see that though. And I won't mind not being the oldest. He can take over watching Little Joe when you and Mama go to town. That boy sure is a handful. I'm plumb tuckered out when I gotta watch him."

Stepping out in front of Ben and Hoss, Adam startled them. "What do you want here?"

"Adam, I want you to come back with us."

"Why? You sent me away when I had done nothing wrong."

"Boy, you're a lot like your mother. We came looking for you to take you home. I know now that you're my son, and I suspect you knew that too. Why didn't you say something?"

"You never looked for me. You didn't want me, and now you sent me away."

Dismounting and stepping closer to Adam then as did Hoss, Ben could tell that beneath that icy exterior was a hurt boy. "I thought you were dead. I saw you with an arrow piercing you and Inger lay unmoving beside you. There was so much blood. I felt for your heartbeat and didn't feel one. We were under attack. I grabbed Hoss and ran. The soldiers who came across the site buried all the victims, so when we came back there were no bodies to see. They said they had buried women and children together so I thought that you and Inger were in the same grave. I hope you can forgive me. I don't know how I could have done it differently."

"Are the cows sick?" It was an adept change of topic, and a maneuver Adam had mastered when he was quite young. It almost brought a smile to Ben's lips but he couldn't afford to be misunderstood.

"Yes, the cows are sick. Well some of them. We moved the others. How did you know?"

"I could smell the water. I don't drink water I can smell."

"You were right, and I was wrong. Please, will you come back with us?"

"If I do, will you send me away when you are angry again?"

"No, Adam, he won't. I'll be there at your side. You ain't ever leaving us again."

"I have not decided that I will go with you."

Hoss looked at him with those bright blue eyes of his and knew. "Yes, you have. Ya just ain't figured out how to say it yet." Stepping closer, Hoss reached out his hand. "Glad to meet ya, brother. Now why don't we sit down and fix something to eat. I'm hungry."

"I think perhaps you are always hungry." Adam did a little crooked half smile. It was the most emotion either of them had ever seen him show except anger. Hoss grinned in response. Then Adam looked to Ben.

"Adam, we'll work things out. I know it won't be easy. There are five of us, and we'll all have to get used to each other, but you're family, and we'll do it. You're sixteen years old and you've lived longer away from me than with me. But we're family. We'll find a way."

Turning away from them then, Adam said only a few words, but to Ben and Hoss, the impact was huge. "I was going to hunt when you arrived. If you don't make too much noise, I will have something for dinner soon." With that, he turned and headed into the trees. They waited quietly, and after about a half hour, they heard some noise. Adam came back and asked Hoss to come help him. In a short time, they had a deer slung on a pole between them and walked to where Ben was standing holding the reins of the horses. Adam directed them up the hill to his camp. Ben was amazed because it was so well camouflaged, he would never have found it. He knew then that Adam had accepted them because he could easily have waited as they searched futilely and then gone on their way.

Cooking the venison over a campfire, Ben and his two sons ate heartily. There was plenty left for breakfast, and they took the rest of the cooked meat with them to eat as they traveled. They talked a lot about their experiences especially Hoss who loved talking about the Ponderosa and all the animals. He talked about swimming in the lake and fishing in the streams. He mentioned the line cabins they were building as bases of operation when men were sent to work on the edges of the great ranch. Ben talked about the huge addition they were making to the ranch.

"Why do you need so much? The land looks very good, does it not provide everything you need?" Adam didn't understand why the ranch was so big.

"Son, I want a ranch to leave to my sons that will provide for each of them and for their children. I am building for the future. I want to expand the herd and start breeding horses too. Perhaps you would be interested in helping with the horses. You're a better horseman than anyone else on the ranch right now."

"Who would make the decisions?"

"I would with your input. You're still only sixteen, and you don't have the experience in business that I do. I would like to start teaching you that right away though. How much schooling did you get with Miss Adams?"

"I remembered how to read rather quickly. She made me read more and more difficult books. When I was leaving, she gave me two books so I could keep reading. I have a collection of William Shakespeare's plays and another collection of works by John Milton."

"That's interesting. Paradise Lost by Milton was your mother's favorite book. Did you like the books Miss Adams gave you?"

"Yes, and now I need to ask how you know Miss Adams."

For the next few minutes, Ben explained about the letter, and his discussion with Marie. Then Adam had questions about Marie and Little Joe. As they talked, Ben realized that Hoss was correct. Adam was coming back with them but didn't know how to say it yet as he needed some time to adjust to the idea. By the morning as they ate venison for breakfast, Adam asked Hoss to help get the horse ready for travel. Both Hoss and Ben realized there was not going to be an announcement as such. Adam would go about getting ready to travel with them as a way to tell them he had agreed to go to the Ponderosa to live. They traveled for a day and camped one more night sharing more and more stories. Finally they rode to the ridge above the ranch house and paused.

"There it is, son. That the house I built based on the plan you drew when we were on the wagon train."

"I wondered about that. You kept that sketch all that time?"

"Yes, and I built the house using that sketch because it was one of the few things I had left of you, and I wanted it here on the Ponderosa for all of us. Now you can live in the house you designed. I framed that sketch and it's on the wall by my desk. Now I want a map of the Ponderosa and I'll hang that there too."

"Do you want me to draw a map for you?"

"You can draw like that?"

"I like to draw. I drew a lot of pictures when I was in Miss Adams' school. She gave me pencils and paper to use. She said she liked my drawings. She said they looked real. I'm not sure what she meant, but I think it was a compliment."

"Yes, it was. It means she thought it looked just like what you were drawing. Not everyone can draw things just the way they are. I would like to see your drawings some time if you have any. We have paper and pencils on the Ponderosa too so you could draw more if you like."

With Ben leading the way, the trio rode down to the ranch house. Hank met them in the yard and welcomed Adam back now as a son of the owner. Marie came outside with Little Joe who seemed intrigued by this new person in with his father and Hoss. The family went inside after Ben informed Hank that he could tell the hands about the new development. Hank had known when they were leaving but had been instructed not to say anything to the men.

Inside the house, Adam stopped and looked at the high ceilings. He had been afraid that he would not like the house inside and that he would feel all closed in, but the house was wide open and didn't have that closed in feeling at all. Ben showed him around the first floor, and then took him upstairs and gave him the guest room as his own. He put his meager belongings inside and then came back downstairs to talk with Marie and Little Joe so they could get to know him too. When Hop Sing came out to announce that dinner would be served soon, he was introduced to Adam as well. When they sat down to dinner, Ben sat at the head of the table with Marie to his right and Hoss to his left. Little Joe sat next to Marie, and told Adam to sit on the end next to him. Adam sat on the chair, and watched what the others did and copied it. He had learned about Christianity with Miss Adams and he remembered some things from the time with Inger.

"Ben, how will I learn about your religion?"

"Well, we can talk about religion, and you will be expected to go to church services with us on Sundays. I have a Bible you can read as well. If there are parts you don't understand, we can discuss those too."

Nodding Adam continued to eat. He was amazed at the amount of food that was served and very amazed at how much of it ten-year-old Hoss could eat. He was six years younger but only a few inches shorter than Adam and already much heavier. After dinner, Ben took Adam to the washroom and showed him where everything was.

"Would you like to take a bath? It must have been a long time since you were able to bathe."

"I would like that. At the school, they had a washroom with a washtub and we could use that to bathe. Your washtub is much nicer and longer."

"That's a bathtub. Its only purpose is for us to take baths. Hop Sing has a washtub in the back of the washroom that he uses to wash laundry. Now, do you have any clean clothing to wear after your bath?"

When Adam said he didn't, Ben went to get some of his old clothing. It would do until they could buy Adam more clothing, and then Hop Sing could wash what he had worn and it would be dry by morning. Ben brought an old robe, a pair of pants that were too small for him, and one of Hoss' shirts. He forgot to bring socks, and when Adam was dressing, Ben noticed the bottom of his feet.

"What happened to your feet? You have terrible scars there."

"The Pawnee burned my feet because I kept running away. They thought I wouldn't run away on burned feet. I didn't. I waited until they healed and then ran away again. They sold me to the Newe because I wouldn't stay with them. I ran away from the Newe too at first but I had nowhere to go, so they took me back. If I worked, I was given food. If I refused to work, I got nothing. So I worked."

"Well, you'll work here too, but if you refuse to do something, you'll still get food. If we have some disputes, we'll have to try to talk them through."

"Your wife doesn't like me."

"She doesn't know you. She's worried a lot about Little Joe, and she isn't sure how having you here will affect him."

"When I first saw him, I thought he was a girl. Why does he wear a dress like a white girl?"

"It is how people dress their children in the cities. I have told Marie that it is not suitable out here in the west, but she doesn't agree with me. We'll talk more about that some other time."

Adam could tell that the topic made Ben uncomfortable. He did have another question. "What do I call you? I know your name is Ben, and I have called you that, but it doesn't seem the way that a son would address a father."

"What would the Shoshoni do?"

"The sons call their fathers father."

"Well, I would like you to call me Pa if you were willing. It's what you used to call me."

"I remember, ah, Pa."

Smiling, Ben and Adam walked to the great room. "What do I call your wife? Is it proper to call her Marie?"

"Yes, for now at least, I think that would be the best. I'm not at all sure that she is ready for you to call her Ma, and I would think you might have some trouble with that as well."

The family talked in front of the fireplace until bedtime. Adam had no nightshirt and said he didn't want one. He planned to sleep without clothing as he had in the summer months in his camp. Ben wasn't entirely comfortable with that, but did insist that if he left his room, he had to wear a robe. They said good night to each other, and Hoss and Little Joe came to his door to say good night as well before they went off to their rooms. Marie walked by on her way to tuck Little Joe in for the night and said nothing.


End file.
